Be Gentle with me
by stlouissweetie
Summary: My first story. Starts with some MerDer banter, don't know where its going but lots of pairings.
1. Be gentle with me

**A/N. Okay, this is my first stab at this. I've been reading fanfiction for a while now and have gotten just so frustrated with some of the stories that I have decided to write my own, because then I know that the word "our" will never be misused with "are". Seriously. I just read a twenty-one chapter story and every time the pronoun our or ours was used the author typed are. It really bothered me. **

**Sorry, I'm kind of a rambler, anyway, this is my first story and I'm not yet sure of its destination but here is what I do know: At the END it will be MerDer. At the end. I don't know where it will start or where the middle will take them but they will be together in the end. And there will be NO Addek. Because I just finished watching season two and they are just friends. Even when they were married, best friends, and I just can't force myself to see it any other way, and I am extremely glad that the writers stopped having them try to have sex because honestly I think that was just shy of the awkwardness Meredith and George shared after they slept together. Yeah, definitely a rambler. Point is MerDer at the end, no Addek. But there will be a lot of different pairings throughout the story. Because I like variety. And I love the Greys characters. No guarantees besides what was already stated but there is some possibilities of some MerMark, Izzie/Alex, Addie/Alex, Mark/Izzie, Mark/Addison, and some Burke/Christina and George might be thrown in to the story as well although I have no clue what to do with George. Still deciding if I like Callie. Okay, so all characters random pairings throughout the story undecided. If you have any suggestions let me know via review or email, always open to criticism, and I'll make a deal w/ other authors. If you would like to review my story, I will review one of yours- your choice which. Okay I'm gonna shut up and get started now.**

**Oh yeah, almost forgot, I don't own grey's.**

Meredith Grey sighed as she stared out the hospital window at the gray Seattle sky that she felt constantly spit rain.

It had been a long day. Two traumas, two surgeries, all ending with four deaths. Today had been a day that she decidedly would end with a warm bubblebath and a mug of warm tea, before she would collapse in her bed after the thirty-hour shift from hell.

She turned to head back to the elevator that would take her back down to the first floor, where she would idle her way back to the locker room, change, and sprint out the hospital lobby before another trauma came in and prevented her from sleeping yet another night.

She pushed the button that made the down arrow glow, and the elevator doors opened to reveal none other than McDreamy.

"Afternoon Mer, you heading home?"

" Yeah, thirty-hour shift", she said, grinning at the smug smile that pulled his face as she stepped into the shaft.

"Really."

"Really."

"Coincidence."

"Why is that Dr.Shepard?"

"Well, I'm heading home myself. Trailer is so much more peaceful now that its just me again."

"Well I'm glad you have your peace again", she said grinning yet again, this time knowingly of his next suggestion.

"Yeah, it was time Addie and I let reality set in. The thing about peace though is that it can be awfully lonely at times."

"Well I guess you can't have everything at once, can you", she retorted playfully.

Addison and Derek had finalized their divorce three weeks ago, but Meredith decided that they both needed time to be themselves. Just themselves, without any attachments. If they tried to be "them" again she wanted it to stick. She couldn't let herself love him like she knew she did until she was sure they were both ready to be done. Until he realized how to convince her she was it for him, she refused to admit the same.

"Well, I guess I'll see you around Dr. Shepard", she said as the elevator doors pinged open and the both walked out into the hospital lobby.

"Why not have dinner with me Dr.Grey? We could go out and catch up at a restaurant, or…"

"What"

"Or you could run an errand with me to the nearest grocery store and then come back to the trailer with me and I'll make you dinner", he said with the most convincing McDreamy smile he could muster.

"I thought you were enjoying your peace Dr. Shepard", Meredith laughed at his obvious efforts to be smooth.

"Yes well, I would enjoy my peace more if you were there with me."

"I see."

"Can I take that as a yes?"

"You are impossible", she laughed again.

"Yes but the challenge intrigues you, admit it"

"Alright."

"Alright?"

"Yes, alright, but I'm not staying too late. I work another shift tomorrow starting at six and I have got to get some sleep if I plan on surviving it", she said as he grinned at her resolve.

"Wonderful, shall we then?"

"We shall."


	2. dirty little secrets

Okay, I'm super excited about this now because I have gotten such a good response. And yes I will do everything in my power to keep my promise of good grammar and clean English. Glad to know I'm not the only one it bothers when it's botched. And, I have figured out how it is going to end – plot wise. Isn't that great?! No idea how I'm going to get there, but now I do know where I'm going, so on with the story.

Twenty minutes later Derek and Meredith were heading into the local grocery mart. She giggled as he took a list out of his pocket and pulled a cart out of the lines before walking through the second set of double automatic doors.

"Do you this often, because let me tell you, you have definitely got the soccer-mom look down Dr. Shepard."

"Are you making a mocking reference to my list Dr.Grey?"

"Wouldn't dare, Dr.Shepard. Would you like me to push the cart for you?"

"Have you ever been in this grocery store before?" he retorted referencing her inability to cook.

"I'll admit its been months so maybe I'll just follow you", she laughed as she followed him into the produce department.

The two surgeons made their way through the store and were approaching the checkout lanes when a familiar blonde caught sight of them.

"Mer, you weren't answering your cell phone, do you know if we're out of tampons?", Izzie grinned.

"Iz, what are you doing here? I thought your shift didn't end until twelve."

"I'm on call until twelve but I finished post-op notes early so I decided to run errands before we ended up with sour cream that started out as milk as the only thing left in our fridge. About those tampons?", Izzie replied with a playful smirk.

Derek shot Meredith a small grin before mumbling something about meeting her at the front of the store when she was ready and left the two women to discuss the needs of their bathroom.

"I'm not sure", Meredith said shooting daggers at her roommate.

"What the hell are you doing Mer?", Izzie replied bluntly.

"I don't know what your talking about", Meredith said sheepishly.

"Yes you do. What are you and McDreamy doing buying groceries together?"

"Well, was in the elevator when I was leaving and offered to make me dinner."

"He offered to make you dinner", Izzie replied with a cynical look. "Dinner, Mer? I thought you weren't taking the elevators anymore? I thought you were going to take some time, you know so he could get over the divorce of the marriage that he didn't tell you about the first time he made you dinner…"

"Izzie…"

"Don't Izzie me Mer, what are you doing? What happened to your vow of celibacy?"

"Broke it at prom", Meredith replied indignantly.

"Meredith Grey, that was before McDreamy was divorced."

"Thanks I was unaware of that", came Meredith's sarcastic retort.

Izzie just stared at her friend for a few long moments before her eyes got wide. "Mer, why are we not in need of tampons?", she said in a tone that demanded a response.

"Iz, I don't know what your implying", Meredith managed to get out before Izzie cut her off again.

"Like hell you don't, Meredith, we haven't bought a box of tampons in two months and I couldn't figure out why until now."

"Izzie, I don't know anything for sure yet can we talk about this when I get home", Meredith gave her a pleading look.

"Fine Meredith but you better figure this out soon, denial can only cover it for so long", she said as her friend gave her a small hug before turning around and joining Derek as he bagged the last of his groceries.

"Denial can only cover this for so long", Izzie muttered as she watched the pair exit the store.


	3. A cold wind will blow through your door

Great response guys, it makes me unimaginably happy to know you guys are enjoying this.

Back at the trailer, Izzie's discovery had put Meredith on edge. She had just realized the indication her late period might have two days prior, and had at that time written it off as stress. But now, here she was in Derek's trailer two months after their little excursion, three weeks after his divorce, and her late period was beginning to feel like more than just stress.

"Mer, is everything okay?", Derek asked as he chopped something to go in the skillet he was preparing their spaghetti sauce in. She had been noticeably more quiet on their drive back to the trailer and she was now leaning against the counter next to him and chewing her bottom lip. This was significantly different than the banter they had started up in the elevator.

"What", Meredith asked as she looked up from spot on the wall she had been staring at for minutes before his voice interrupted her train of thought.

"You got awfully quiet, is everything alright?"

"I don't know", she mumbled as she slid back down onto the small couch on the back wall of the trailer.

"You don't know?", he inquired again.

"I don't know", she repeated.

"Anything I can do to help you figure it out?", he was trying so hard to help her trust him again, but he didn't want to push his luck. He had a lot of ground to make up for and he knew it. She had been done. He was it for her. And then his wife had waltzed into their lives, and suddenly, the ground shifted. Now his wife was his ex-wife, but the ground never completely shifted back. Now they had to figure out how to be them again on new grounds. With every passing day he became more and more sure that was what he wanted, what they both wanted, but he had to let her regain her trust in him. And he was going to help it along every chance he got, without pushing the newfound boundaries of their relationship.

"You may have already done enough", came her delayed response.

Derek whipped around to look her in the face. "Mer, I know alot has happened but we're trying here. We're giving each other space before we decide to be a we again, and I hope that's where we're headed, but not until you're completely sure your ready. I promise this is just dinner. It won't be more than just dinner between friends until you're ready for that. I promise."

As he spoke she watched his eyes dance around her with passion and desperation and her own pooled with unshed tears. "Derek, no, that's not what I meant. I mean, thank you, for the space and you are incredibly sweet for making me dinner, but that's not what I meant. I'm not sure what I meant…but I think I need to go find out."

He gave her a questioning look and she stood, gave him a pack on the cheek and walked out of the trailer.

As she walked to her car she hit speed dial two on her cell phone and prayed that she'd pick up. "Iz, are you at home?"

(Pause)

"Thank god, listen can you meet me at the drug store in twenty minutes?"

(Pause)

"Thanks, I owe you"

(Pause)

"Okay, bye."


	4. when you say nothing at all

**Wow, it is pretty amazing that over 1300 people have read the beginning of my story in 48 hours. It really makes me smile. And to those of you, who review, they really inspire me to keep writing. So to everyone reading, thanks for the inspiration, you guys rock! And I know some of you want Mer to be pregnant, and some of you think its been done too many times before, but I really do think she is going to be. Now, the story will play out different than others, but I really love the idea of Mer and Der having a McBaby. How cute would that kid be?! Please stick with me but I don't think I'll be able to help myself. So she's met Izzie at the drug store, lets see what happens next**

Derek sighed in confusion as he watched Meredith walk out of the trailer and pull out her cell phone as she climbed into her jeep. One minute his was preparing spaghetti sauce for a nice quiet meal, just the two of them, and now, here he was, sitting on the trailer's small couch, contemplating what exactly it was that he had done to upset her this time. He sat there for about ten minutes before he decided to call her cellphone. It went straight to voicemail, so he called her house, in hopes of catching her there, only to have George tell him that she had called the house ten minutes earlier and asked to speak to Izzie, before the blonde had mumbled something about being back later and jumped in her car, headed to a destination unknown by either man. Derek bid a thank you to George before hanging up the phone and deciding his next move.

After a few minutes of the heavy silence that had taken over the trailer after Meredith's abrupt depature, Derek decided to try Joe's, and if she wasn't there, determined to meet her at her house when she finally did come home.

After a short drive and a brief argumant with Izzie, Meredith was now sitting in her jeep waiting for her friend to walk back out of the drug store with a pregnancy test. What in reality, was only a few minutes since the blonde conceded to purchase the test, felt like eternity to Mer. What if she really was pregnant? What would she do? Could she be pregnant and still continue her internship? She still had five months to go before she would become a resident. Would the chief let her continue with her internship? What would Bailey say? Oh crap, Bailey. Bailey was going to kill them. What would Derek want her to do? Derek. Oh crap, Derek. If she was carrying his child, that qualified for moving a relationship to the next level, right? Oh crap, was the last of her swimming thoughts before her roomate exited to the drug store with a brown paper bag.

The two women drove back to Queen Anne's hill in silence. It wasn't until they pulled up to their house and saw a familiar car parked out front, that Meredith broke the silence with a mumbled, "Oh crap."

They slowly made their way up the drive, taking the front steps with ease before entering the house to find George in the living room asking McDreamy if he was absolutely positive he didn't want anything to drink.

"No thank you", came Derek's defeated response.

After a meaningful look at Mer, Izzie sighed a loud "We're home", from the foyer. Within seconds Derek, followed by George, exited the living room to join the two women. Izzie looked at Meredith, who responded with a soft nod, and proceeded to mumble something to George about helping her with the dishes as she pulled him into the kitchen with her.

"Hey", Derek breathed softly as he gave Meredith a small McDreamy smile.

"Hey"

"Listen, I didn't want to impose or infringe on your space… I know you need space, but I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Derek, there's something I need to tell you, and I don't know how to tell you, because we're giving each other space. And if we both still need space, we shouldn't push it just because of this. And, I love you. I still love you. For a while, I absolutely hated you for it. I really, really hated you for it because you broke me. You hurt me, and I loved you. But I still love you and I don't want to help it now. I wanted you to know that, but no matter what the outcome of this is, we both have to be ready before we are us again, because I love you too much to lose you for good. And I don't think either of us can handle another round of heartbreak. I just wanted you to know that, just in case this is really happening."

"In case what is really happening, Mer?", Derek chuckled at her rambling.

Meredith glanced down at the paper bag still in her hands and than back up to him.

"Can I know what's in the bag?", Derek asked tenatively moving closer to her as he spoke, until they were mere inches apart.

She looked back down at the bag before handing it to him and studying his face for a reaction.

Derek took the bag in his hands and slowly unrolled the top opening, before sliding one hand down into it to pull out the contents. He stared at the cardboard box with the label _E.P.T. _for a few long moments before looking back up to the love of his life.

"Mer", he said questioningly, before a smile graced his features as he stared at her lovingly.

"Are we pregnant?"


	5. Flying High

Roughly 60 hours, four completed chapters, and almost 2,000 hits later. Wow, this is more than I imagined it would be, and for the fifteen of you that have reviewed, thank you so much, it means the world to me to hear back from you. I have responded to every member's review so far and I will try to keep that up, but wow is that a little time consuming. If it ever comes down to review reply or an update, I'm gonna assume you want an update and reply later, okay, I hope you'll forgive me. And for those of you who aren't members, if you have any questions, let me know in your review and I will try to post an answer in the bold author's note that leads every chapter, but please keep reviewing. Thank you guys so much, I can't say it enough. Okay so leading off from last chapter…

"_Mer", he said questioningly, before a smile graced his features as he stared at her lovingly._

"_Are we pregnant?"_

"I don't know yet", came her delayed response. She was a little shocked by the smile on his face and continued to stare at him inquisitively.

"Well do you wanna go find out", he prodded her gently in the direction of the stairs as he continued to beam at her.

She took in his reassuring nod, and gave one in return, before grasping his hand and leading them upstairs.

When she approached the bathroom at the end of the hall, she paused and turned to him.

"You feel good about this no matter what, right?", she asked nervously.

"No matter what", he said as he dropped a light kiss on her forehead and handed her the bag."

"Okay… If you want to, you can wait in my room while I pee on the stick, and I'll meet you in there for the waiting portion, because I don't think I can do that part alone", she rambled.

"Whatever you want, Mer. I'll be in there when your ready."

He gave her hand a quick squeeze, before she nodded and entered the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

As the door clicked shut, she took a deep breath and brushed the tears that had leaked out onto her cheeks away with the back of her hand. She was so unsure and emotional, and he was being so supportive, and so damn sweet. Why did he have this effect on her? He lied to her for months about having a wife, yet he could still melt her with that smile. He was still her McDreamy, and he was standing by her, and sure of them, even when she wasn't. 'So damn sweet', she thought as she took a deep breath as she opened the box and pulled out the thick plastic stick that would hold the answers to their futures.

Two minutes later Meredtih washed her hands and exited the bathroom before walking across the hall to her bedroom.

"About four minutes before the stick changes any colors", she said into the darkness to the familiar sillouette sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Four minutes, huh", the figure responded with a small laugh, as she sat down beside him. He wrapped an arm around her protectively and the two laid back on the bed.

A few moments passed in silence before he spoke again.

"Meredith… what do you want to happen?"

"What?"

"What do want that test to tell us?"

She answered after a moments pause, "I'm not sure."

"You're not sure", he repeated softly.

"Well it certaintly wasn't planned… and we were giving each other space…but once it became a real possibilty, it made me realize something. I don't want anymore space. I mean, I don't want to rush things, I still think we should definitely take things slow, but… I want you. I want all of you. You and me… forever. And when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with someone…you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible… So I guess in answer to your question, whether that stick turns blue or not, I want to be with you. I want to marry you, and have children with you, and sit with you on a porch swing fortty years from now, watching our grandchildren run around the yard. And whether that dream starts tonight or a year from now it's never going to change. Because your it for me."

"Good", came his simple reply after her longwinded explanation.

"Good?", she repeated expecting something a little more than a one syllable reply after pouring her heart and soul out to him.

"Good…because your it for me, too. You are the only one I want to go to bed with every night and wake up to every morning, the only one I want as the mother of my children, and the only one I want to spend every moment of every day with for the rest of my life. Your it for me , too", he said smiling as he lightly inhaled the scent of her hair as she was curled up against him, her head sitting in the crook of his neck.

"Good", she said as she let her body relax into to his.

After she was sure the four minutes had passed, she lightly nudged him to get his attention, " Derek?"

"Yeah, Mer?"

"If I'm it for you, the love of your life, would you do me a favor?", she asked sweetly, a smile playing across her lips.

"Anything, Mer."

"Could you go see what color that strip turned? It's sitting on the edge of the bathtub on some toilet paper."

"Sure you don't want to come?"

"I was in there for the first part, I would rather you just tell me."

"Okay, I'll be right back", he said as the two of them sat up on the bed, before he stood and crossed the hall, flipping the light on in the room on his way out.

Meredith sat in her place on the edge of her bed for a few moments, before her nerves got the better of her and she stood and made her way to her doorway.

"Derek"

When no response came she entered the bathroom, to find Derek sitting on the edge of the bathtub with the test in his hand.

Upon her entrance, he looked up at her, meeting her expectant gaze with one of a five year-old that had just gotten a bike from Santa on Christmas morning.

"Blue means pregnant", he responded.

"Blue means pregnant", Meredith nodded affirmatively.

He face broke into a wide grinned as he stood and closed the gap between them.

"We're pregnant, Mer", ha laughed before scooping her up in a hug, swinging her around.

He carried her back into her bedroom before setting her down and repeating, "We're pregnant."

Meredith's smile was so wide she could barely repeat what he had already told her twice.

"We're pregnant? As in pregnant? Like cribs and diapers and those tiny little socks with the paint on the bottom?... We're gonna have a baby?"

"We're gonna have a baby", he mumbled into her lips as they crashed into his own. The two spent the night in each other's arms in awe of their new reality and the new future they had created together.


	6. Can't get it right today

Quick note: Okay, I've been pretty good about updates so far, I think. At least one a day, two a day the last few chapters, but I'm on winter break. Once I go back to school please lower your expectations, because I will get crazy busy again and that's just life, so you may only get a few updates every week, instead of two a day. However, I will by no means, just leave you hanging. If the time ever comes when I just don't have enough of it to write, I will wrap it up earlier than intended. The story will not be in progress for months and months because I don't have that great of an attention span and I hate when authors go months without anything, because then you forget what was happening in the story. I won't ever abandon this story – I promise.

I'm not sure how long this story will be, but I will jump ahead a little here and there, because I do believe there can be too much of a good thing. However when the time comes, if it seems the majority of you want me to continue with a sequel, I think that can definitely be arranged. But I seem to have gotten ahead of myself, so lets see. Mer is definitely pregnant. Preferences on the sex of the baby? I'm just not sure. At first I thought Derek would have a little girl to spoil, but now I'm just not sure. Let me know what you think. This is going to jump ahead two months to the beginning of Meredith's second trimester and is going to answer a lot of questions posed in the beginning of last chapter and let you know how our favorite couple is proceeding. As always, thanks for your support and reviews. They are most definitely inspiration.

Meredith groaned, as she rolled over to turn off the loud beeping of the alarm clock.

"Too early", Derek mumbled into his pillow, as he wrapped his arm protectively around her middle and pulled her to him.

"I know, babe, but we have to be at the hospital in an hour if we're going to keep our appointment with Dr. Walsh", Meredith sighed into his chest.

"Can't we do it at lunch?", he looked down to meet her gaze and shot her his best sexy pout.

"It was your idea to do the scan before rounds, remember? You said it was the only way you were guaranteed to be there. When I suggested going during lunch you said 'What if one of us gets caught in surgery? There's no guarantee that you could reschedule or that I could be there for a reschedule. Let's do them before rounds.' That's what you said Derek. You promised me", Mer said returning his pout. She sat up in bed and swung her feet over the edge. "If you want to chance not seeing the first image of our child, I guess that's your prerogative."

"Oh, Mer, you know I didn't mean anything by it. I'm so sorry, Mer, I want to be there for everything, holding your hand if you'll still let me. It's just very early and we were up very late", he covered quickly, a grin gracing his features as he thought of the effect the pregnancy hormones were having on her. Sure, they made it almost impossible for him to not say something that would get him in trouble, but the making up process was also in overdrive. And that just couldn't be bad, now could it.

"I know", Meredith sniffled, tears welling up behind her eyes. "I just… I don't know anymore, Derek. I can't control my own damn emotions. I cried during a hallmark commercial last week. What's wrong with me?", at this point she was on the verge of hysterical.

"Oh, honey…Shh…You're okay", Derek said as he crawled out of the sheets and came up to sit behind her, once again wrapping his arms around her to pull her flush against him.

"I'm so horrible to you now, sometimes though, Derek, and yet your still here, holding me. I don't understand how you can go from being such an ass sometimes to being this sweet", she said as she stood and turned around to face him. She had stopped crying as quickly as she had started.

"Mer, it's just the hormones. They make me an ass, and you emotional, and us have what Christina has christened sickeningly sweet McDreamy moments."

"I love you", Mer said as she bent down to peck him on the lips before walking across the hall of her house, to the bathroom.

"I love you, too", Derek responded to her retreating figure, then decided that they should shower together to save time, and followed her into the bathroom.

After they found out they were pregnant, they decided to start dating again, which, for them, inevitably ended in sex, which then, once again, led to many sleepovers at Meredith's house. However, they had recently decided to build a home on Derek's land. They had agreed not to move into it until they were a family, rather than a couple, but Derek made sure that Meredith got her say in every decision they made, because ultimately, he wanted this to be their dream home. Until then, they continued to share Meredith's house with George and Izzie, although Alex's presence at the breakfast table had also become reoccurring.

An hour later, Meredith and Derek made their way into the hospital lobby, a little frazzled that their morning's activities had made them a bit late. They took the elevator up to the Maternity floor and walked into the waiting area just as Dr. Walsh called Mer's name.

"Okay, Dr. Grey, you know the drill. Just slip the gown on and hop up onto the table, and I'll be back in a couple minutes and then we can get started", Dr. Walsh shot them a smile before exiting the room.

A few minutes later, the parents to be were staring in awe at the screen that projected the first images, of who, they had decidedly dubbed BabyShep, until they were born, and could be given a suitable name.

"Oh my god, Mer", Derek breathed as he smiled at the screen.

"I know…and listen to that heartbeat", Meredith replied referring to the strong thump, thump, thump, that had echoed through the previously silent room.

Once the scan was done, Dr. Walsh let Meredith change back into her street clothes, before wrapping up her checkup with a few questions that would keep them on track with her pregnancy.

"Meredith, I understand the realties of your job as an intern here, and I don't see why you can't continue to work for a while yet, as long as you don't exceed twelve hour shifts, or eighteen hours on call. Be sure to eat regular meals and keep hydrated. And keep coming to the monthly scans. If you notice anything unusual, or experience discomfort beyond those in the normal realm of pregnancy, slow down. We don't want any pre-term labor. But, everything looks great you guys. Keep taking your vitamins, and unless you want to know the sex of the baby, your done."

"I think we've decided to wait to find out the sex of the baby. At least for now", Derek said sharing a look with Meredith who nodded on return.

"Thank you, Dr. Walsh, we'll see you the twelfth of next month."

The two headed out of their doctor's office and rode the elevator back down to the pit, before sharing a quick kiss and parting ways to start their days.

Okay and guys, kind of a P.S. 3,000 hits and 20 reviews? Please Review, I hate begging.


	7. Someone to love

Okay I made an executive decision. Meredith is carrying one baby. We'll see what happens later. Sex of the baby has also been determined, not that my mind can't be changed with some convincing reviews. Thanks for reading guys. The next chapter is going to jump ahead to the seventh month mark. Last chapter jumped to the fourth, this one is jumping to the seventh. Enjoy.

Meredith sighed as she looked down at Izzie, who was tying her shoes for her. Yesterday morning, she had come into the locker room, changed into a pair of Derek's scrubs, as her's no longer fit, and sat down on the bench between the rows of lockers to change into her tennis shoes.

Yesterday, she had barely been able to lean over far enough to pull her flats off and slip her tennis shoes on and then tie them. Barely, but she had managed it.

Today, the process did not go as smoothly. She leaned over once she sat down on the bench, but was unable to reach her feet. At first she refused help, muttering it was ridiculous for her not to put her own shoes on. She was able to kick her flats off, and feel her left foot into her left shoe, but was then unable to bend over far enough to tie it. This triggered the water works. Now, twenty minutes and a lot of persuasion from her family later, Meredith had dried her tears and conceded to let Izzie tie her shoes for her.

They had finished their last days as interns the previous week and were now residents with interns of their own. For this, Meredith was both grateful and frustrated.

Along with input from Dr. Walsh and Chief Webber, Derek and Meredith had decided that she would work up until about a month before her due date. Then she would begin a three-month maternity leave from the hospital. Once the baby was born, Derek would also take two weeks off so the couple could adjust to the new little person, together.

That left her with about a month to break and groom the morons that had been assigned to her, into suitable interns, before they began reporting to Derek and Dr. Bailey during her maternity leave.

She, now, understood why Bailey yelled so much. To be fair, she supposed that she had been the same way a year ago, but it didn't make it any less frustrating when they woke her up to start central line IVs. Yet, the morons made it possible for her to go on leave because they could cover her cases, which made them more tolerable.

Christina assured her not to worry about it. If any of her interns should need a good burning, she would be more than happy to oblige. Meredith had replied reminding her that the interns had only been there a week, and were already avoiding the infamous Dr. Yang. No one wanted to deal with the next Nazi. No one except Bailey, that was, Bailey was proud. She had raised at least one of them to spit fire and that seemed to be enough for her.

Amazingly, of the seven resident slots Seattle Grace held open for their interns turned residents, all five of Bailey's last group of interns had been selected to continue in their program. What was more amazing was that they all decided to stay. Alex had gotten an offer from New York General and had turned it down. Both he and Izzie were also offered positions under Addison, at her private practice in Manhattan and had politely declined. It didn't surprise anyone when Meredith and Christina decided to stay with their significant others, or that George decided to stay with everyone else. The family had managed to stay in one place, and Derek and Meredith couldn't be more grateful to have their mismatched family around for the birth of their first child.

Her morning's dilemma didn't seem to hitch her day, though. Meredith led her interns through pre-rounds, assigned them to today's assignments, and had then scrubbed in with Derek on a craniotomy. It was going pretty good, until she started having braxton hicks after lunch. Both Derek and Bailey had witnessed the twinge in her face when her hand flew to her abdomen, and had stated that if she insisted on staying at the hospital instead of going home, she was going to rest in the on-call room until the end of her shift, barring any emergencies, in which then, and only then would she be allowed to be up practicing medicine.

She had complied, but in turn pulled Derek into the oncall room with her. The pair lay down on the bottom bunk, and curled up against each other, both pairs of hands resting on Mer's swollen abdomen.

"Two months, until Babyshep is born", Mer sighed as she pressed her palm against a spot the baby was kicking.

"Two months", Derek repeated with a soft smile. "Have you been thinking of any names lately?"

"I don't know, have you?"

"You don't know if you've been thinking about names for our child?", came Derek's smartass retort.

Meredith laughed as she replied, "Okay, maybe I have, but I want to here yours first." She interlaced their fingers and began drawing small circles up his arm with her other hand.

"Okay, what about Derek junior."

"Derek junior", she asked with another laugh. "Couldn't that get confusing when I'm yelling at you guys? Besides, what if it's a girl."

"Okay, no Derek junior. What was one of yours?"

"I like the name Luke. Or Noah, I like Noah for a little boy."

"Noah, huh. I like Noah. Noah James?"

"That's a possibility."

"What about a girl's name?"

"What about Georgia?"

"Georgia? Like the state?"

"Yeah, well I thought we could play off the names off our friends. No Georgia?"

"No Georgia, Mer. What about Lena?"

"Lena is nice. What about Liliana?"

"I think Liliana is just about perfect."

"Okay, middle name…Isobel?"

"You want to give her Izzie's name?"

"She ties my shoes for me now, Derek, I think that deserves recognition. Besides I was toying with making her the godmother. You know, since Christina is firmly science over faith."

"I think that's a nice idea. Okay so Noah James, if it's a boy, and Liliana Isobel, if it's a girl."

"Derek we just named the baby", Meredith smile at the thought.

"We did, Mer. BabyShep has a name."

The two spent the rest of their shifts in each other's arms pondering which name they would be using in two months.


	8. Under the Waves

**Sorry for the delay guys, my sister and I are competing for computer time since we go back to school Monday and wouldn't let me on here long enough to write a decent chapter and post it. However she did leave me a good review for chapter seven and was upset I didn't update yesterday. So basically she loves my fic as much as some of you do and is, therefore, allowing me substantial time to get another chapter up. Oh, and for you Harry Potter fic fans, she'll be posting a story for that in the next day or so and has quite a few chapters written. I haven't read it yet, so I can't give you a review, but her author id is hphglejplvr. If you're interested in Harry Potter, you might check it out.**

Anyway, my story. It seems most of you agree with me, so unless I get some pleading reviews requesting otherwise, I know what is going to happen now. For the first time since I started writing this I know where I'm going. It's kinda weird and I'm not sure if I like it. Until now, I've kinda just said "Okay, I'm gonna type a chapter now. Wow, okay this is what happened last chapter", and let my creative juices go from there. Now I have an ultimate place I need to be at the end of the chapter and I don't like it. Oh well, here goes nothing. Hope you enjoy!

Meredith was on her second week of maternity leave and was starting to feel the effects of all her free time. She was going stir crazy.

The first two days, she had finished the process of ordering the furniture she and Derek had previously picked out together on their days off. The new house was ready for them to move into once the third of their party showed up.

That was good. That kept her busy. Then she decided to spend the rest of the week cleaning every inch of her mother's old house, from garage to the attic.

Once that project was done, she decided to organize both of theirs things to be packed for the move.

Then, she washed all of the baby's things, so they would be ready to go whenever they were needed.

That was three days ago. She had run out of projects, and Derek had started coming home for lunch to keep her from going to the hospital to "visit" him on his lunch break.

Izzie had started purposely making messes (and had stopped compulsively cleaning) in order to give Mer something to do. Not that Meredith didn't appreciate everyone's efforts, because she knew it had to be killing Izzie to not be taking care of the house, but she wanted to do something that mattered. Something that affected others. She was used to saving lives all day for god's sake, she needed to be around people.

But, instead, she was sitting on her living room couch, watching rain blur the foggy windows, while the television flickered in the background. She had been like this for about an hour when a sharp pain rain rippled through the top of her abdomen. She wrote it off as a hunger pang, because as of recently, her stomach felt like it was cramping when BabyShep was hungry.

Twenty minutes later, she was sitting on a stool in the kitchen, finishing her turkey sandwich, when another pain hit her. She started to worry a little, but decided to give her sandwich some time to digest, before she panicked and called someone to come home and drive her to the hospital. She read the paper for a while, and when another twenty minutes went by without another pain, she breathed a sigh of relief and stood to return to the living room.

She made it as far as the hallway before she swore loudly.

"Shit", she breathed as she tried to side step the puddle now forming at her feet.

She made it back into the kitchen and dialed the hospital.

"_Seattle Grace Hospital."_

"Hey, Tyler, its Meredith Grey."

"_Meredith, who do you need, honey?"_

"Ah, well Derek would be nice, but whoever you can find the fastest is who I need."

"_Okay, hold on a sec…Dr. Stevens is right here, do you want to talk to her while I go find Derek?"_

"Yeah, that'd be great, thanks."

"_Mer?"_

"Yeah, Iz, thank god. Is Derek in surgery?" Meredith sighed into the receiver.

"_Just went into a cranioplasty with Christina, why?"_

"My water just broke Iz."

"_Oh, shit."_

"That was my first response, but now I'm panicking a little here and I need someone to come get me."

"_Okay… umm… just hold on a sec."_

"Izzie, please, I don't have a sec."

"Iz?"

"IZZIE!"

"_What, Meredith, seriously. You'll probably be in labor for hours. Chill for a second."_

"Thanks, for that little morsel of comfort, I feel so much better now that I know I'm going to be having agonizing flashes of pain for hours! Izzie? What the hell?!"

"_Okay Mer, here's what's going on. George and Christina are scrubbed in, so I'm gonna send Alex to the house to get you, and then I'm gonna go find Derek and let him know, so he can find someone to replace him in his surgery before you get here. Okay? I'm gonna prep your room and we'll all be ready for you when you get here, okay?"_

"Alex is coming? He's on his way?"

"_Left two minutes ago Mer, he's on his way, I promise."_

"Okay."

"_Okay?"_

"Okay. Thanks Iz."

"_No problem hun. Do you want to talk to someone until Alex gets there?"_

"Is there someone who isn't busy?"

"_Here's the chief, want to talk to the chief?"_

"Okay", Meredith whimpered as another contraction hit.

"_Meredith, you doing okay?"_, came the deep, familiar voice from the other end of the line.

"Yeah, I'm okay Chief. I just can't be left to my own devices right now, or I might get panicky", she responded.

"_Might get panicky?"_, he said with a laugh. _"You were scaring Dr. Stevens there for a moment, what with the bellowing into the phone and everything."_

"I did not bellow, I just wanted to get her attention", Mer said sheepishly. She rested her hand on her abdomen again. "Oooohhh…I wish Alex would hurry up."

"_Just breathe through it, Meredith. Breathe…in…and out. Good…in…and out."_

"Thanks, I…just thanks."

"_No problem."_

After a long pause she heard him say, _"You know, I was there the day you were born. Worked a 48-hour shift so as to be there through the whole thing. Wanted to see you at the end of it. Adele and I, we never had kids, so it was the closest thing I'd experienced to expecting a child."_

"Oh", was all she could respond with.

"_Your father never left your mother's side. He was a good father. Before…everything happened. I know you can't remember, but he was a good father."_

"I had figured that…seeing him with Molly. He's a good father to her, and I figured he would have been the same with me, had he stuck around."

"_Yeah."_

"Yeah."

The two sat in silence, until Alex burst through her front door.

"MER?"

"IN THE KITCHEN", Meredith shouted into the foyer, muffling the phone with her hand.

"_Okay, well I'll see you all in a bit."_

"Yeah, thanks Chief", she said as she hung up the phone.

Alex came into the kitchen, carrying the bag she had packed two weeks earlier and stashed in the hall closet for quick access.

"You okay, you ready?" he said with a smile.

"Yeah, let's go", she said, surprised at how calm he was. If, and when, he and Izzie figured it out for good, he would make a good husband. Would be a good father to his children. If it couldn't be Derek here with her now, Alex was a good second.

The two locked up the house, and made their way back to Seattle Grace to bring BabyShep into the world.

**Okay, despite my hesitation, I like this chapter. Really and truly. I know some like to think of Richard as kind of a substitute father to Mer, but really, the way I see it is that he was the reason her real father wasn't around. So they won't be having father-daughter moments in my fics. But he is her boss, and Derek's mentor, and kind of a friend to them both, so he's excited about seeing the next generation coming into the world. And please don't kill me for having Derek not be there. He will be there for the actual event, and I wanted to show the friendship between Mer and Alex, because we haven't seen a lot of it in the show lately, and I wanted you to remember that for reasons that will be revealed later on. So, yeah. I think I've rambled enough. Hope you enjoyed and I should, hopefully have another chapter up tomorrow, maybe tonight, but definitely by the end of the weekend. We'll see. Oh and this fic is going to be about 10 chapters. This was the eighth. That means there's two left, but I will definitely leave room for a sequel, because you guys seem to really like it. Let me know what you think. Thanks!**


	9. You are my Joy

Okay, I'm so sorry for the wait (although it was moderately brief for most, I usually try to keep it moving with a chapter a day). But look on the bright side, I will have written and completed a story in a week span, so there should be plenty more to come once I get some new ideas. Okay, well this is chapter nine, which you indicate to you that there will only be one more after this. This feeling I'm having is bittersweet, because I'm so proud of myself for finally writing one and keeping up with it, but you know, its gonna be hard to end. I'll miss it, so you probably won't have to wait long for something else to pop up, such as a sequel. Or another story. I am satisfied with this one because it is my first, but I do hope to improve, especially with capturing the authentic characters. I think that needs work, but in time it will come, or won't. We'll see. All right, so Mer and Alex arrived at the hospital. Let's go find out what happens next.

Meredith had been in labor for the past six hours and her patience and strength were starting to wear thin. She cursed Izzie for predicting this, too. When Derek walked back into her room, returning from his errand of getting her more ice chips, she pointed to him.

"You", she said as she pointed. She was standing next to her bed, leaning on it for support, trying Bailey's trick of using gravity.

"Me?" Derek stated, confused.

"You", she repeated. "You did this. This is your fault."

"My fault? Mer, honey, you're doing great."

"No. No, you don't get to butter me up. I have been in pain for the last SIX HOURS, and I am convinced that it has to be your fault.", she said wincing, on the verge of tears.

"Okay, okay, let's focus on something else, alright."

"You focus, I don't want to focus", she all but yelled.

Derek ignored her last remark and continued, "Let's think about the new house. All of the furniture is being delivered tomorrow, and Alex and I will get it all set up according to your specifications, and then we'll be moved in by the end of the week. You and me and the baby."

"You finished putting the crib together?"

"Mer, the baby won't sleep in the crib for the first few months, it'll be in the bassinet in our bedroom."

Upon the glare he received from Meredith, Derek quickly recovered his last statement with a quick, "But I knew you wanted it done, so it went up when I went to see that the new tile went in."

"Good." "Aahhhh…"

"Okay, breathe…You're doing great, baby, just a little longer", Derek said he came up behind her and grabbed her hands in both of his, letting her lean into him.

An hour later, Dr. Walsh came and checked Meredith's progress again, and declared it time for the main event. Forty-five minutes later, Derek entered the waiting room with the same grin he wore the night they discovered they were pregnant.

"So?", Izzie spoke up from her spot on Alex's lap. George, Christina, and Burke, who had been partaking in a game of Texas hold 'em, set their hands down and looked up at him expectantly.

"I'm a dad", Derek laughed through his smile.

Izzie sprung up and encased him in a hug, followed by Alex and Burke, who did the same.

"How's Mer", Christina asked after offering her congratulations.

"She's fine. She's better than fine. She's fantastic. They're both perfect.", Derek said, still unable to stop grinning.

"Well?" said George.

"Well what?"

"Is it a boy or a girl?" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, dude, Christina and I have money riding against George that the baby was a girl", Alex put in.

Derek stared at the three of them trying to conjure a look of disapproval, knowing Meredith would not appreciate them making bets on their child, but failed miserably.

"Okay, let's just keep the whole bet thing between those present, but why don't I let you guys see for yourself", Derek responded.

The group made their way back to Meredith's room in excitement-induced murmurs and squeals, no one actually speaking.

Once they approached the door, Derek gave a soft knock and swung it open, leading the rest of them into the pink hospital room.

"Hey", Meredith murmured softly at the people filtering into the room. Somewhere along their way to Meredith's room, Bailey, Addison, and the Chief had joined the group.

"Hi", Izzie squealed, as she strode over to the bed to get a better look at the baby. "Hi, baby", she cooed. "How your first hour going, huh?" "Wow, Mer, she's beautiful."

"Thanks, she is just precious, isn't she?" Meredith smiled back down at the bundle in her arms.

"Wait", George cut in. "How did you know the baby was a girl?" he directed at Izzie. "And I didn't think you two found out the sex of the baby at any of your scans?" he said, pointing to Meredith and Derek.

"We didn't", Meredith replied, all eyes on Izzie.

With a sheepish sigh, Izzie responded "Well, I was looking at the scans."

"We all looked at the scans, Izzie", Christina threw in. It wasn't that she minded her knowing, but she could have at least clued her in. However, she and Alex had won their bet, so the fifty bucks George now owed her kept her negative feelings from spilling out.

"Well then, I guess you all should have realized what wasn't there", Izzie replied.

"Man, maybe you guys need to work under a gynie doctor for I while, because I figured it out, too", Alex smirked at George.

"What! That isn't fair. You cheated", George accused.

"Cheated at what?", Meredith questioned.

"Who knows, honey", Derek covered quickly, "Why don't we tell them what we decided to name her.

After giving Derek a curious look, Mer smiled again and looked back down at her new daughter. "Everyone, this is Liliana Isobel Grey-Shepard."

"Isobel?" Christina and Izzie responded in unison.

"Yeah, um, Derek and I decided to make Izzie and Alex her godparents", Meredith said this slowly, as to ward off any confrontation.

"But, we also want to make them, and you and Burke, Christina, her legal guardians", Derek put in. "We just thought that, because you believe in science, Izzie could guide her in faith."

"I think that was very thoughtful, Shep", Burke responded for the both of them, before Christina could say anything. "We are honored for the recognition. I can't wait to spoil her."

"Thank you Preston, but could you wait a few years to begin corrupting my child", Derek joked lightly.

"Yeah, we'll just wait until you two need a 'vacation'", Christina said dryly, but finally smiled again.

"Alright, sounds great", Derek responded.

"Well, we should let mom get some rest", Addison smiled at Meredith and Derek. She had come to terms with their new family, and was relieved to not feel like she was keeping two people, who were meant for each other, apart.

"Yeah, seven hours of labor, Mer. You did great", Izzie added. She kissed Mer's forehead and gave the baby's hand one last stroke, before receding to the back of the room. Alex, George, and Christina did the same before they followed Addison, Chief, and Burke out of the room. Bailey stayed for a few minutes to check up on them, but then she, too, exited the room.

The new family sat together in awed silence on Mer's hospital bed until a nurse came to take Lily to the nursery for the night. Then, the two new parents fell asleep soon after, compliments of the days exhausting activities.


	10. Into the Sun

Wow, yeah, please don't throw rotting vegetables. I know its been quite awhile, and here is why: First I got a severe case of writers block. I couldn't decide if my original plan was the right way to end this. I get new ideas faster than I can write, and then things get all foggy, and I can't remember what I had already written and posted. It can be dazing writing more than one thing at once and I will never do that again because ideas fuzz together. Sorry. But after I made up my mind, we got new office furniture and stuff got moved around, and I was back in school, and then I got grounded for a week. From the computer. So that accounts for the last three weeks and my lack of the final update. I really do feel horrible about telling you all 'this is it, last chapter' and then leaving you hanging for almost a month. I'm so, so sorry. I'll hush, here is the actual end to our story. I hope you are forgiving and enjoy.

"Derek…, could you come in here for a sec?" Meredith called into the garage from the kitchen of their new home.

She had been pacing the space between the sink and the island for the last forty-five minutes, and decided her news couldn't wait for him to actually finish fixing whatever he had broken. He had been out there for the last two hours, so she made a mental note to have George or Alex come take a look at whatever it was before she called a repair man.

The young family had been living in their new home for about six months now, and Meredith had come to find that any maintenance the house would need over the years simply couldn't be done by her husband because he would only make it worse. The first time he used his new self-propelled lawnmower, she was sure they'd be visiting the emergency room on his one day off. Luckily, George had stopped by and showed him how to reset the speed settings and got things under control.

"What's wrong Mer", Derek asked coming infrom the three-car garage, his white t-shirt and work jeans covered in black grease and dirt.

"What did you do?", she asked, taking in his appearance.

"Nothing", he mumbled sheepishly.

"What needed fixing", she retorted with a coy smile.

"Nothing, is this what you needed me for, because I could call one of my sisters if I wanted the third degree", he said shortly.

"No, I'm sorry. I just…"

"What? Is Lily alright?"

"Lily's fine, she's great…napping in the next room, playpen, you know. Those things are a godsend, they can be popped up wherever you need them… Just so convienient, you know…she's great."

"Okay, whats up then, and don't say nothing because you're rambling."

"I'm not rambling", she mumbled defensively, not looking him in the eye.

"Okay, then say it like you believe", he said smiling. Before she could respond, he walked up behind her and added, "Don't worry, I find your inability to make a point when your nervous endearing."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, well, I… its just… I think, that maybe…"

"Spit it out, Mer."

"Ithinkimaybepregnantagain"

"What?" he asked, genuinely confused, trying to decipher her words.

Instead of responding, Meredith unwrapped his arms from around her waist and walked through the kitchen and family room, disappearing into the hall, returning a few moments later with something in her hands.

When she presented it to him, his gazed dropped to the positive pregnancy test in her hand, and he gapedat it.

"Mer… wow…but, Lily's only six months old. We're both working again, and she's in daycare at the hospital…"

She waited for him to continue, afraid of what may come next.

"Well we'll have to reserve another spot in the program, and the room across from Lily's, it'll need to be painted. I guess we'll need to buy another nursery set, because Lily will still be using hers when BabyShepII comes around."

During his rant, he had begun pacing the same small space Meredith had been just minutes earlier. However when he turned around to look at her, the same kid-on-Christmas-morning grin was gracing his features, and she breathed out a sigh of relief.

"So you're not mad", she stated tenatively.

"Are you crazy, why would I be mad? We're having another baby! Oh, but Mer, I really think this one's going to be a boy, don't you? Are you feeling it? I really think so, not that another girl wouldn't be just as fantastic, but I just have a feeling. What do you think?"

"I think you're the one rambling, now, but unless my instincts are completely wrong, we should paint that room blue. Indigo maybe, or perhaps something lighter, more of a periwinkle with some of Izzie's star stencils. Something dreamy."

"That sounds perfect", he said, embracing her again.

"Do you realize this time next year we'll have two kids under two?" she murmured into his chest.

"It's the best terrified feeling in the world though" he responded into her hair.

"Yeah" she agreed, and the two sat in their new kitchen contentedly holding each, each pondering the prospect of the pending new addition to their family.


End file.
